This is a
genuine Swiss pear bread recipe
served at breakfast and dinner the Crusch Alba Hotel in the Lower Engadine part of
Switzerland. We fell in love with this dense, chewy bread when we stayed
at the Crusch Alba this summer and asked the Sutter-Coretti family, owners of the
hotel, to email us the recipe. It arrived in German and my husband Bart
did the translation into English. If anyone would like the original
recipe in German, please send me an email to
ditty@dnai.com.

The Crusch Alba Hotel pictured here is
a delightful tiny hotel in S-Charl at the end of a 15 km winding dirt road
up from Scuol. It is in the far eastern part of Switzerland, a
little to the east of St. Moritz and Davos. There are endless hikes in the
surrounding Alps and trailheads in every direction right from the front
door of the hotel. The warmth and hospitality of the Sutter-Correti family
will make you feel at home and they equip you for any hike you want to
take. Visit their website at http://www.cruschalba.ch.

Crusch Alba Hotel (on the left)

There are two secrets to the
Sutter-Coretti's Pear Bread
recipe:

1. The
dried fruit and nut filling is infused with Kirschwasser and rosewater;

2. The fruit
filling, which itself has some dough in it to bind it together, is then
encased in a thin layer of dough.

In their words "one kneads
bread dough into the paste of dried fruits, nuts and different spices and
pours rosewater over the entire splendorous object".

The preparation of this pear bread requires a
certain amount of time. Therefore, a number of loaves are baked at once.
They will keep 10 to 14 days as is, in a cool place and never in a plastic
bag. A slice of juicy pear bread with a thick dollop of butter
awakens memories of gemütlich breakfasts, tea table
or a holiday table
decorated for Christmas.

(The amount of each ingredient is
in metric. I do plan to covert the recipe into the American system in a few
weeks.)

Cover
the
dried pears with water. Bring to boil
and take off heat. Let the pears soften
overnight.

Put the plums in the red wine and likewise let them stand
overnight.

Drain the dried fruits and put them, without stems or pits,
through a food processor until they form a paste.

Chop all the nuts coarsely and add to the
paste along with the candied orange/lemon peel.

Add in the Kirschwasser or brandy, rosewater and spices in alternating small
portions. Taste the paste after each addition until you have found your preferred flavor. Some like it
spicier, others like it "schnappsier".
Keep the bottle of brandy or Kirshwassernear at hand to correct the flavor to your liking.